Social Media Advertising is an Agency of Growing Influence

According to a recent report by MarketingCharts, social media advertising has more influence on the buying decisions of American adults than radio ads, despite having lower reach.

20% of Millennials surveyed said they made a purchase in the prior 6 months because of social media advertising, which is a 65% increase from a similar agency study done two years ago.

Social media advertising has a greater purchasing influence on this demographic than direct mail, radio and print, although TV ads continue to have the biggest influence on purchasing. Video ads have surprisingly seen little uptick in stated purchase influence despite widening reach.

The rise in perceived influence of social media ads can be partially attributed to a larger presence. Growing exposure to social media advertising is likely tied to the use of social media platforms on smartphones.

Social media ads on mobile devices influence purchase decisions across most demographic groups analyzed in the report, though the trend has been less pronounced for affluent individuals.